Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures -3/E.

Entrepreneurship: Successfully Launching New Ventures (3rd Edition) Entrepreneurship: Launching New Ventures, 3e, introduces readers to the process of entrepreneurial success and shows them how to be effective every step of the way. Introduction to Entrepreneurship; Recognizing Opportunities and Generating Ideas; Feasibility Analysis; Writing a Business Plan; Industry and Competitor Analysis; Developing an Effective Business Model; Preparing the Proper Ethical and Legal Foundation; Assessing a New Venture’s Financial Strength and Viability; Building a New Venture Team; Getting Financing or Funding; Unique Marketing Issues; The Importance of Intellectual Property; Preparing for and Evaluating the Challenges of Growth; Strategies for Firm Growth; Franchising. For readers interested in starting an entrepreneurial venture in today’s market

MOOCs and the Online Delivery of Business Education: What\u27s New? What\u27s Not? What Now?

Although the past 2 decades have produced much promise (and accompanying research) on the use of information technology (IT) in business school courses, it is not entirely clear whether IT has truly transformed management education. There are compelling arguments on both sides. On one hand, advocates for the transformative role of IT can point to several success stories. On the other hand, skeptics of the role of IT in management education can also point to support for their view. This lack of consensus has led researchers in Academy of Management Learning & Education to call for scholars to confront the bias against online education (Redpath, 2012) and engage in serious research on online education (Arbaugh, DeArmond, & Rau, 2013). In this article, we respond to these calls for research by using adaptive structuration theory to develop a conceptual model of three factors that influence the use of IT in business education. We review prior research for each factor and use the conceptual model to identify implications for the design and delivery of business education. Based on the implications, we offer recommendations and recognize challenges for business schools and faculty related to the use of IT in business education

Privatization and Entrepreneurial Transformation

Privatization has become a popular strategy to promote economic development in developing, and developed economies. Despite its popularity, little attention has been devoted to examination of the organizational and managerial implications of privatization or to the effect of privatization on companies' ability to innovate and engage in entrepreneurial activities. this article we discuss privatization's increasing importance and present a model that links privatization to a firm's entrepreneurial activities. We conclude with a discussion of issues that we believe deserve scholars' attention in theory development and subsequent empirical examination.Publicad

Stimulating dynamic value: social capital and business incubation as a pathway to competitive success

Studies of business incubation tend to examine how managing the incubator can help incubating firms create value. In the past, emphasis has centred on the provision of core business services and the design of the incubator, but more recent approaches focus on the provision of a rich network through which an incubating firm can engage in collaborations. We argue that such provisions dictate only the opportunities for value creation; how incubating firms choose to behave and pursue network opportunities dictates the extent to which these opportunities can be realised and, thus, the value creation. Firms' destiny lies in the hands of their combinations of strategic networking activities, and incubation outcomes do not occur because of their mere presence in an incubator. We identify two value-stimulating behaviours (networking activities)—resource pooling activity (resource-seeking behaviour) and strategic network involvement (knowledge-seeking behaviour)—and develop a value matrix that classifies incubation into four types of outcomes on the basis of the extensive versus narrow combinations of these activities. Each incubation outcome has merits and can be used to inform the evaluation of incubating firms and the relational strategies of their managers

Effects of Acquisitions on R&D Inputs and Outputs

Making acquisitions, although a popular strategy, may not always lead to positive firm performance. Researchers have offered several explanations for this relationship. One is that acquisitions lead to lower investments in R&D and curtail the championing process whereby organization members internally promote new products and processes in firms. The current research found that acquisitions had negative effects on R&D intensity and patent intensity

Are Acquisitions a Poison Pill for Innovation?

The recent wave of acquisition activity may be damaging the innovative capabilities of American firms, thus making them less competitive in the global marketplace. In fact, acquisitions often serve as a substitute for innovation, which may cause further neglect of internal research and development (R&D) programs. Additionally, acquisitions often lead to increases in leverage, diversification, and absorb significant amounts of executive time, which may lead to reduced managerial commitment to innovation. In this article, evidence is presented suggesting that acquisition activity may result in reductions in R&D inputs and outputs. On average, the 191 firms in the sample reduced their allocations to R&D relative to their competitors following acquisitions. Furthermore, the firms also experienced reductions in the number of patents. Implications from this evidence are offered for executives and acquisition strategies. Specifically, based on our results, we propose that firms can compensate for the negative effects of acquisitions. Moreover, acquisitions, when properly planned and targeted, may enhance or complement a firm\u27s innovation processes. Firms should search for acquisitions that complement R&D projects, facilitate product commercialization and/or enhance their core competences

Business model design–performance relationship under external and internal contingencies: evidence from SMEs in an emerging economy

We examined Business Model (BM) designs – performance relationship and the moderating effects of firm age and external environment on this relationship. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of simultaneously operating dual BM designs (i.e. novelty and efficiency) on firm performance and contingent effect of firm age on this relationship. Based on data from 241 Indian SMEs, our findings highlighted that BM novelty was of greater benefit to younger SMEs compared to mature SMEs, while BM efficiency was of greater benefit to more mature SMEs. The environmental dynamism positively moderated the relationship between BM novelty and performance but it negatively moderated the relationship between BM efficiency and performance. We also found that BM efficiency is more beneficial in a low, rather than a high, munificent environment but we found environmental munificence did not moderate the BM novelty and SME performance relationship. Finally, we found simultaneous deployment of BM novelty and BM efficiency resulted in an enhancement of performance among mature SMEs compared to younger SMEs. Our study not only adds to the limited literature on BMs in SMEs but also helps practicing managers and entrepreneurs to make informed choices about their BMs

Social capital and learning advantages: a problem of absorptive capacity

Theoretically, social capital allows entrepreneurial firms to capitalize on learning advantages of newness and gain access to knowledge as the foundation for improved performance. But this understates its complexity. We consider whether learning through social capital relationships has a direct effect on performance and whether absorptive capacity mediates and moderates this relationship. We find that network-based learning has no direct relationship with performance, but this is mediated in each instance by absorptive capacity and is moderated twice. Our findings challenge the learning advantages of newness thesis and reveal how absorptive capacity can enable business performance from a firm's network relationships

How does Guanxi shape entrepreneurial behaviour? The case of family businesses in China

This paper explores how Guanxi shapes different levels of entrepreneurial behaviour of family businesses in China. Extant research draws on network theory, suggesting that firms focusing on less intimate social relationships are more entrepreneurial than those focusing on intimate social networks. However, this notion of networks neglects Guanxi’s indigenous cultural roots that promote intimacy in social relationships, thus limiting our understanding of why some firms in China demonstrate a higher level of entrepreneurial behaviour than others. Through an in‐depth multi‐case study analysis of eight family firms in China, we find that Guanxi is a multi‐dimensional concept that can only be effective through intimate relationship building. This study contributes to the social network literature on entrepreneurial behaviour by incorporating the gift exchange theoretical perspective and demonstrating that political Guanxi in China can only facilitate entrepreneurial behaviour when it is built around a significant level of intimacy. We also contribute to family business research by demonstrating that family ties are multi‐dimensional. Different cultural values may inform different dimensions of family ties via differences in family business governance structures, which can give rise to different levels of entrepreneurial outcomes. This study offers theoretical and practical implications alongside avenues for future research